


My Lady is Amazing

by Jolynn_Noire



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Is Sunshine, Adrien Agreste Knows, Adrien Agreste is a teasing little shit, Adrien is Marinette's #1 fan, Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Chat Noir Defense Squad, Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, F/M, Flirty Chat Noir, Ladybug wants to protect her Chat, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Knows Nothing, Marinette will fight you if you insult her kitty, Protective Chat Noir, Protective Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Season 2 spoilers, Tags added each chapter, The Ladyblog, headcanons, minor DJWifi, partial reveal, troublemaker spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-05-15 06:25:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14785208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jolynn_Noire/pseuds/Jolynn_Noire
Summary: After a protective rant about Chat Noir goes viral on the Ladyblog, Adrien has to come to terms with two things:One: Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Ladybug...and Two: She's so much more amazing than he originally gave her credit for...





	1. Prologue

The sun was starting to set over the Parisian skyline, just as Chat Noir landed on Marinette’s balcony. His boots made a light thud sound that was drowned out by the nervous pounding in his chest. 

Nervous was an understatement.

He was mere moments from jumping out of his skin. Not because of the secret he discovered- he had already had hours to freak out about that- but more because of how she may react  _ because _ he knew it.

This wasn’t like that time he had let his curiosity get the better of him, and peeked into her sketchbook and saw the doodles of himself. This was serious, life-altering.

He made his way to the skylight, his core shaking with each step. This was going to change everything.

He looked at the light coming from inside and questioned if he could still go home and come back when he had a better idea how to break the news to the dark-haired girl. 

But, his moral backbone knew he couldn’t. She could be in danger, and he couldn’t blindside her with something like this. Not after she kept telling him how much he couldn’t know.

A dry lump formed in his throat as he leaned over the skylight, catching the sight of Marinette sitting on her bed, doodling something in her sketchbook: the same one that had started this emotional rollercoaster of a day, just a handful of hours earlier.

 

~Author's Note~

Sorry for this being so short, but I wanted it to be separate from the events of chapter 1 and serve as a taste of what's to come.

Hoping to upload again soon. 

See you then

~Noir Out


	2. Personal Heroics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While discussing personal heroes, Marinette realizes that not everyone feels the same about her feline partner...

Marinette nervously scratched away on her sketchpad, trying to perfect the image of her dad. “Mmmm,” she grumbled in annoyance, erasing yet another mark that seemed to darken the sunny face of her father. Alya shook her head, laughing. 

“Just calm down, girl! You got this! Everyone else seems to be doing their hero reports on our resident super-duo, so trust me: if nothing else, you’ll get bonus points for being original.”

Marinette replied with an anxious smile, hoping Alya wouldn’t notice the piece of paper that was hidden under her notebook.

Truth was, as soon as they were assigned to present on their personal hero, the first person to come to mind was her secret partner, Chat Noir, but for fear of revealing too much, including her own secret identity, she switched her hero at the last second to her father.

It wasn’t that she didn’t see her father as a hero; she most certainly did. He had built his own business in the City of Love, constructing a love for pastries in a city where sugar was the main staple, somehow managing to get his product to stand out for tourists and residents alike. That alone was hero-worthy, not to mention his positive attitude, which was absorbed by everyone he met, no matter how dark their day had been up to that point.

But, strangely, that was the same thing she admired about her dorky feline counterpart. Sure, he’d leapt to the rescue a multitude of times, sacrificing his own well-being to save his dear Lady, and he was a hero to the masses due to his clever cat-like nature and willingness to serve his city.

But what she loved most about him was his ability to bring a smile to her face, even during the times when she started to wonder if victory was obtainable. He made it feel obtainable, if not fun at times, even from Day One- well, day two, but did it really matter after so many battles?

What she did know was that no matter what, his silly sense of humor, his ridiculous puns, his constant flirtations, always brought her back to Earth and reminded her how joyful the world could be, something she clung to when the city was being overtaken by obsidian butterflies that fed on negativity.

However, she was not about to tell him a single bit of that. If she  _ had _ decided to go with her original presentation- oh, if Chat Noir ever caught wind of it- he would never let it go. The boy’s humor was matched only by his exaggerated view of his own awesomeness, and she, for one, was not ready to see that kitty’s ego inflate any more than was due.

Even though, she considered, he’d never know it was Ladybug giving him all those compliments, yet he was always the optimist. What if he got the wrong idea and thought she had a crush on him?

Oh gosh. That tomcat’s flirting was bad enough as it was. She could only dread how insufferable it could be if she was dealt it on both sides of the mask.

Nope. The only risk she was willing to take with this assignment was not tripping over her feet when she reached the front of the room. 

 

Only one row in front of her, Adrien was busy compiling his own presentation. It would come as a surprise to no one that his personal hero was partner clad in red and black. He was having a similar problem, in that he couldn’t figure out how to word it without revealing his own secret identity. However, that little detail dissuaded him none, and he was ready to proclaim his admiration for his darling lady to the world. Or, at least, to his classmates.

“Hey, what’s that?” 

Adrien could tell the voice behind him belonged to Kim, but he didn’t look up from his tablet; years of condition had taught him to keep himself out of conversations he wasn’t invited into.

“It’s a picture of my Papa.” Marinette’s voice came as a reply, the scratching of her pencil coming to an abrupt stop, “Is it that bad?”

“No, not that.” Kim corrected her, pausing to move something on the desk, “This. Ooooh. Are you drawing pictures of Chat Noir?”

Marinette scoffed, pulling the paper from his hand, “That’s...no! It’s nothing.”

Kim chortled loudly, “Good! For a second there, I thought even our sweet Marinette had fallen ill with Chat fever!”

“Chat fever?” Alya exclaimed, rising to her feet; “Got a bit of Chat envy there, Kim? Jealous he’s got more agility and strength than you’ll ever have?”

Multiple footsteps seemed to head their way, meaning that Adrien wasn’t the only one silently listening. He took the opportunity to turn around and observe the discourse with nothing more than curiosity.

Kim, face reddening from Alya’s question, took a step back, but he shook his head in defiance. “Yeah, right!” he spat, giving a nervous chuckle. “I’d race that girly boy any day, and you all know who would win!”

“Chat Noir,” Marinette muttered, looking down at her sketchbook. “In a heartbeat.”

Amidst a chorus of resounding  **_ooohs_ ** from her classmates, Alya’s smirky smile grew. “You gonna argue with ‘our sweet Marinette’, Kim?” Alya teased, tapping Marinette on the shoulder.

Marinette, realizing she’d accidentally pulled herself into the argument, rose to her feet, a little too quickly, and she stumbled backward. Her arms flailed as she began to topple over the table, but before her feet completely went airborne, she felt two strong yet gentle hands pressing into her back, urging her to her feet.

She turned around, ready to thank her savior, and she found herself nose-to-nose with Adrien. She tried to mutter out a meager  _ thank you _ , but all she could muster was an awkward laugh and a casual wave of her hand. 

Adrien flashed an endearing half-smile in reply, tilting his head slightly towards Kim as if to gently encourage her to continue. 

Marinette sighed, placing an embarrassed palm over her face before turning back toward Kim.

“Honestly, Marinette,” Kim teased. “I’d never expect you to fall for the likes of Chat Noir. But then again,” his eyes glowed as he nodded toward Adrien, “I suppose it’s not too surprising considering your taste for pretty boys.”

Adrien glanced behind him, unsure to whom Kim was referring. He shook it off and turned back toward Kim with a defusing smile. 

“Come on, Kim; leave Marinette alone. She can admire whoever she wants.”

Before anyone could reply, a fourth member entered the match. Said member leaned her body over Adrien’s desk a little too close for anyone’s comfort. 

“Come on, Adrikins. It’s not about adoration. It’s about giving credit where it’s rightfully due.”

Adrien’s eyebrows lowered, as he considered what Chloe was saying. He tried to hide his personal offense to his childhood friend dissing his alter-ego. “What’s that supposed to mean, Chlo? Are you saying Chat Noir isn’t a hero in his own right?”

Chloe gave a shrill laugh, standing up and placing her hands on her hips; “Oh, come on! Even you have to know Chat Noir is basically Ladybug’s sidekick. She’s the one who comes up with all the plans, and who always swoops in to save everyone in the end. Chat Noir is obviously only there to distract akumas and be something she can throw when she can’t find her yo-yo.”

Marinette’s cheeks deepened to the darkest shade of crimson as she lifted her chin to face her rival, her fists balled, her lips curled into a sneer. “Ladybug may make the plans and cleanse akumas, but Chat Noir is a better person than you could ever be!”

The entire crowd seemed to hold their breath, shocked at Marinette’s sudden outburst. 

The silence was broken by Alya’s whisper: “You tell her, girl.”

Marinette looked around at the hopeful faces of her classmates, all of whom seemed to be eagerly awaiting her defense of Chat Noir. The sudden attention made her nervous, but she decided her friend was worth it, and she prepared to let Chloe have it.

She drew a deep breath, closed her bright blue eyes, and when she opened them, they glowed with such intensity that even the blonde felt intimidated enough to step back.

“Chat Noir puts his life on the line every day,” she explained in a quiet voice, “and for people who will never truly know him. He performs a thankless job, and does he complain? Never!” The volume of her voice began to rise, as did her passion. “He keeps a positive attitude that could only be described as a superpower all on its own, and he never has a negative word to say about anyone, even prissy blondes that make his and Ladybug’s job so much harder because they can’t keep their own unhappiness to themselves.”

The room itself seemed to flinch at Marinette’s personal, if not accurate, attack on Chloe. Alya placed a hand on Marinette to ground her. 

“Whoa, girl. Dial it back a bit, perhaps?”

Marinette shrugged off Alya’s concern, crossing her arms stubbornly over her chest as she continued. 

“And even though he gets nothing in return, he sacrifices himself time and time again, for me, for you, for Ladybug, for everyone!”

Chloe’s eyes set ablaze with the dark-haired girl’s personal jab refused to lose this fight. 

“Puh-lease. Ladybug doesn’t even need that mangy cat’s help. Besides, name one time he actually got hit by something that wasn’t caused his own recklessness.”

“Well, let me see,” Marinette began, eyes narrowing as she ticked off a finger with each incident she listed. “He threw himself in Ladybug’s way with Timebreaker, effectively deleting himself from existence. He’s shielded her from attacks from Dark-Cupid, Reflekta, Pixelator. Heck, he even held back Zombizou’s hoard of kissing zombies, letting himself get infected, to keep them from getting to  _ you _ .” 

Marinette’s finger poked Chloe in the chest, emphasizing her point. The latter shrunk back, her eyes revealing that she knew she was defeated. But, Marinette wasn’t done yet. 

“Chat Noir always goes above and beyond what anyone in this city expects him to do. He’s taken more hits and has dealt with more blows- physically, mentally, and emotionally- than Ladybug ever has. And, I for one, admire the heck out of him. And, if I need to personally remind every citizen of this city that he is just as important to their safety as Ladybug is, I will.”

Marinette released her previously unwavering gaze on Chloe, seeming to realize she still had an audience. She quickly noticed that everyone, even Adrien, was staring at her in awe (and, in the cases of a few, a little bit of well-placed fear). Embarrassed by the fact that she had lost her composure so intensely, she quickly sat down, nearly fumbling her landing on the seat, and she picked up her pencil to continue the sketch of her father. After several moments of uncomfortable silence, the students began to murmur, realizing the show was over, and then, went back to their seats, while Alya quietly gushed to Marinette about how ‘badass’ she had been in her argument.

Adrien, however, sat mere centimeters in front of her, stunned into silence to the point he could barely draw in a breath. He tried to blink just to make sure he was awake, but even his eyelids disobeyed him. 

He tried to process what he’d just witnessed. 

Did Marinette, his quiet, unassuming, classmate, just heatedly leap to his defense without a moment’s hesitation?

Did she really just describe, and in detail, incidents that no one, not even himself in some cases, would know about, except for his polka-dotted partner?

Honestly, he knew she had. He knew what that meant. What he didn’t know was what to do with that. 

And he especially had no idea how he was supposed to spend the rest of the school day sitting mere centimeters away from the love of his life without revealing to her that she was, in fact, the love of his life.

One thing was for certain though; Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug, and she was even more amazing than he had ever given her credit for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy this chapter.   
> This story was created after a conversation with a friend of mine about how much Adrien would be enamoured by the reveal that Marinette and Ladybug are the same person, because he's already Marinette's #1 fan: realizing that she is also a kick-ass superhero (and the love of his life) may be too much for our poor cat boi.
> 
> Plus, I needed an excuse to write MariChat because my other main fic doesn't have that option currently.   
> *Self-Promo: Check out Chat's Out of the Bag, if you haven't*
> 
> Anyway, I hope to upload the next chapter soon. 
> 
> -Noir Out


	3. Awestruck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After school, Adrien talks with Marinette about her defense of Chat Noir.  
> Will either of them be able to keep their cool?

Marinette wished she could just fade into non-existence. Even though she meant every word of her defense of Chat Noir, she hadn’t expected it to be so public or so passionate. Though she couldn’t determine if it was because it was Chloe who spurred her on or because of her irritation of her partner’s bravery being cast into shadows all the time. However, chances were she wasn’t going to hear the end of it any time soon.

The school day ended without much more excitement, and she started to believe that she would be able to end her day without any more disasters. Yet, her luck seemed to run out when she tripped on her way out of the building, arms flailing and an unflattering squeak escaping her mouth. Before her face met the concrete sidewalk, it collided with someone’s chest and a familiar pair of hands landed on her arms, keeping her grounded.

Twice in one day. This was either the best day of her life or the day she was gonna die from embarrassment. She looked up and locked eyes with Adrien’s mesmerizing green, which sparkled with a level of amusement that she hadn’t seen from him since he gave her his umbrella.

Yep. This was her last day on Earth.

“Hey, are you okay, Mi-arinette?” Adrien asked, concern replacing the glint in his eyes. Marinette pulled herself away from the familiar smell of _Adrien_ cologne and camembert, making sure her feet were steady beneath her.

“Oh, o-of course. Thank me for catching you. I mean! Thank you for catching me. Ergh.” She groaned and looked down, her conscious mind too focused on keeping her blush down to notice that Adrien still had his grip on her arms.

“It’s alright,” he reassured her, chuckling lightly, “I was hoping to talk to you before you left anyway.”

“You were?” she asked, her blue eyes widening in surprise.

“Uh, yeah,” he replied, pulling his hands away and resting one on the nape of his neck. He seemed nervous, but Marinette couldn’t determine a reason why.

“I just wanted to talk to you about what you said about Chat Noir earlier.”

“Oh yeah, that,” she said, giggling nervously, “I may have gotten a bit, uh, overboard…” She looked down as she kicked the ground at her feet; “I just get so…”

She tried to look for the word. Protective? Angry?

“...heated when people don’t give Chat the credit he deserves, you know?”

“I think the whole class knows now.” Adrien teased, causing her ears to match the blush on her face. She covered her eyes with her hands, and let out an embarrassed groan.

This was so not going well.

“For the record, I’m sure he appreciates it.”

Marinette’s head popped up on its own volition; “What?”

“I mean if he heard it.” Adrien clarified himself, “I’m sure he doesn’t get to hear that kind of praise all the time.”

She took a breath; she knew that was true. Sure, most people saw Ladybug and Chat Noir as a team, but it was rare to see people want to talk to Chat as much as they wanted to talk to her. Even Alya, with all her love of the duo, had focused more on the spotted girl than her black-clad partner. She wondered if it bothered him as much as it bothered her.

“Uh, Marinette?” Adrien said, pulling her from her thoughts. Right, she was talking to Adrien.

She blushed, and looked back down; “Sorry. I guess you just made me think about it. Perhaps, I’ll make him something. A sort of thank you, you know?”

The smile that Adrien returned almost stopped Marinette’s heart.

“You really are amazing, you know?”

She didn’t have a chance to pick her jaw off the ground before the silver limo pulled up to the curb.

“Oh, it’s my ride. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

See tomorrow you, too, was the closest she had to a coherent sentence before his bodyguard’s car pulled away, leaving Marinette with a deep blush and a buzzing in her chest. _He thinks I’m amazing._

 

Adrien rested his head on the back of his seat, eyes closed as he continued to reflect on his day. He had thought to talk with Marinette may have made it easier to connect the (polka) dots, lay on some of that Chat Noir charm; but, instead, he probably just made himself look like a huge dork.

First, he almost called her ‘My Lady’ when he stopped her from tripping. Not the way he wanted to reveal himself to her.

Then, he got all flustered because she was just so amazing, and adorable, and -how had he not noticed it before? His lady had been sitting behind him for as long as they had known each other. They had had lunch together. They played video games at her house.

His heart started to bruise as it fluttered against his ribcage as the revelations kept pouring in. She had his pictures all over her room; he had seen them. She claimed it was an interest in fashion, but he knew better. The pictures were mostly headshots after all. He had taken her excuse as embarrassment that he knew, though he didn’t understand why she was so embarrassed by a celebrity crush. (It wasn’t like she was carrying a cardboard cutout around or anything.)

At the time, he had found it amusing that someone that knew him was a fan of his work- not the work in black-leather, but his modeling career.  Either way, he had let the subject go and tried to downplay it as much as possible for everyone around them.

But, now he knew it was Ladybug who had collected his photos, who had a celebrity crush on him. No wonder she could quote his fragrance ad word for word when they went to the movies.

Adrien let out a gasp, which caused his bodyguard to look back at him in the rearview mirror. However, the blond was too in his thoughts to notice.

That day, he had spent the day running from his more rabid followers. Everyone had thought she was his girlfriend!

Gosh, he thought that would have been kind of nice before, but now…

If only he could be so lucky.

As it often did when he thought of luck, his hand made its way to his pocket. It had taken him days to find it after that whole mess, but it was so worth it. He pulled out the lucky charm Marinette had given him, his Lady Luck had given him. His fingers brushed the etching, as he often did when he hoped to borrow the luck that she had told him it would give, like the nights he had been memorizing the design so he could return the favor for her birthday gift. As if Ladybug needed more luck. Still, the smile on her face when she opened it...

He brought it to his chest and let out a love-sick sigh.

Then, he felt poking in his ribs. He lifted his outer shirt slightly to reveal the black cat that lived there, given his chosen a look Adrien had seen many times.

Plagg had this way of complaining without words, and if the blond was correct, he assumed the little god was already sick and tired of the hearts in his eyes. Especially since all the clues had been handed to him in the form of a breadcrumb trail. But, Adrien couldn’t help it. Marinette was Ladybug, and it dawned on him that he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

 

After Marinette was able to pick her jaw off the pavement, she made her way back to her home. Her head was swimming with what had happened that day, but she somehow managed to keep it under wraps enough to greet her parents and make it to her room, before a squeak of excitement escaped. Sure, Adrien had said she was amazing before; it was how he said it that caused the ladybugs in her stomach.

He looked at her with awe, almost like she was…

Her eyes grew wide, and she opened her purse. “Tikki? Is it possible that Adrien knows?”

The ladybug god hovered up and met eyes with the dark-haired chosen; “Knows what?”

“That I’m Ladybug.” Marinette supplied, and Tikki crinkled her non-existing brows in confusion.

“What makes you think that, Marinette?”

She thought back; “Well, he said I was amazing.”

“But, you are amazing,” Tikki chirped, amusement in her large blue eyes, “Stating the obvious isn’t proof that he knows your Ladybug.”

“But, you didn’t see how he said it,” Marinette replied, collapsing on her chaise with a sigh, “He looked at me like, like… like defending Chat Noir was a feat worth noticing.”

Tikki flew over to meet Marinette. “He wasn’t the only one, though. I remember Alya had a lot to say about how ‘badass’ your defense was.” Tikki supplied air quotes the best she could without fingers.

“Yeah. But, that’s Alya. This is Adrien,” Marinette argued as if that was enough to prove her point to the small kwami. It wasn’t.

“I think you’re missing the obvious answer here, Marinette.”

“Which is?”

Tikki tilted her head, a twinkle in her eyes; “Even though Marinette may not jump into the jaws of t-rexes or face off against love-zombies, she’s a pretty amazing person. You are a pretty amazing person, Marinette. Perhaps, Adrien just needed an opportunity to see it first hand.”

Tikki poked Marinette’s nose for good measure, causing the dark-haired girl to smile.

“I guess so. Besides, the only person that might be able to connect the dots would be Chat, and he’s definitely not in our class.”

Marinette missed the look Tikki’s eyes held before converting to their default expression of optimism, as she prompted her chosen to start her homework.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm back. I know it's been a while since I updated this, but creativity has been leading in other directions lately. Either way, I haven't forgotten about this and I'm hoping to write more in the upcoming weeks.
> 
> Thank you so much for your support and, if you have any ideas or questions for me, just put them in the comments. I try to reply to every single one so don't be shy. :)
> 
> So long for now,  
> ~Jolynn


	4. A Question to My Readers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This isn't an update, more like a question for the readers....

Hey dear readers,

I'm sorry for completely forgetting about this story, but with all the other projects on my plate, it kind of fell off the board.

I wrote this story based on the concept "What if Adrien found out first?" and with the fluffy feelings that surrounded Troublemaker (which was revealed around the time I started this).

So, here's to my question: Now that we've had so many more episodes and events (Like the additions of Queen Bee and Carapace, and The Heroes' Day Season Finale), should I just continue the story as if those already happened, or show them with the lenses of Adrien knowing Marinette is Ladybug?

Just let me know in the comments, and I'll delete this post once I have a new chapter to post :)

 

See You Soon :3


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